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Knicks’ Countermove May Be Counterproductive

Andrea Bargnani, left, whom the Knicks completed a deal in principle to acquire, has been considered a bust since he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in 2006.Credit
Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

The N.B.A. off-season is a fluid creature, shifting and morphing from day to day and sometimes minute to minute — the true winners and losers unknown until the morphing stops, sometime in late July. Perceptions are subject to frequent change.

But the initial burst of transactions, starting on draft night and continuing into the start of free agency on Monday, suggest a shift in New York’s basketball power structure, with the Nets rising and the Knicks wobbling.

Last Thursday, the Nets agreed to a deal in principle that would bring Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to Brooklyn. On Monday, they appeared to be closing in on an agreement with Kyle Korver, one of the league’s premier 3-point shooters and a potent sixth man. They also locked up Andray Blatche, their backup center, with a one-year, $1.4 million contract — according to a person with knowledge of the deal — continuing a so-far-successful off-season.

The Knicks responded to the Pierce-Garnett trade by completing a trade in principle for Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani, a deal that was immediately panned by Knicks fans and mocked on N.B.A. blogs. The Knicks are also facing the potential loss of three key rotation players to free agency: J. R. Smith, Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland.

The deal for Bargnani, the No. 1 overall pick in 2006, will not cost the Knicks much in the near term. They are sending away Steve Novak, Marcus Camby and Quentin Richardson (in a sign-and-trade deal), none of whom were key rotation players. But they also are surrendering a first-round pick in 2016 and second-round picks in 2014 and 2017, mortgaging future assets to add a questionable piece in the present.

When the Bargnani trade becomes official, the Knicks will have traded away every draft pick permitted under the N.B.A. rules from now to 2017. They will have two first-round picks remaining (in 2015 and 2017), and zero second-round picks in that five-year period.

The Nets also borrowed against their future last week, sending three first-round picks to Boston in the deal for Pierce and Garnett. The difference, of course, is that Pierce and Garnett are likely Hall of Famers who, despite their age, are still highly productive, whereas Bargnani is one of the biggest draft busts of the last decade. The trade-off is much harder to justify.

But the Bargnani deal is consistent with the Knicks’ philosophy for the last two years — to win at all costs now, with Carmelo Anthony in his prime, without much regard for what happens down the road. They have repeatedly given up young players and draft picks in favor of adding veterans in pursuit of a championship.

There is some logic to this trade: Bargnani is 27, more than a decade younger than Camby, and he has a broader offensive skill set than Novak. He converted 40.9 percent of his 3-point attempts in 2008-9 and averaged 21.4 points a game in 2010-11 before injuries derailed him. Bargnani converted just 30 percent of his 3-pointers the last two seasons and averaged just 12.7 points last season.

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The Knicks are counting on Bargnani’s rediscovering his shooting touch and hoping he will be more at ease playing as a third or fourth option on a contender, rather than carrying the weight of a No. 1 pick on a bad team. In theory, he should be an ideal “stretch” big man who can keep the floor spaced for Anthony.

But Bargnani is a poor rebounder and defender, which will make it difficult to play him at center or in any lineup with Amar’e Stoudemire, who is also a poor defender and below-average rebounder. The Knicks still need bodies to fill out their frontcourt rotation and to take some pressure off Tyson Chandler.

They also need help at point guard, shooting guard and small forward, needs that will become even more glaring if their own free agents leave. The Knicks are limited in what they can offer Smith, Copeland and Prigioni, and they could lose all of them to teams with salary-cap room.

The most the Knicks can pay Smith is about $5.5 million, or about $24.5 million over four years — a sum that could easily be topped by the Milwaukee Bucks or the Detroit Pistons, who are said to be pursuing Smith.

Copeland, a restricted free agent, drew immediate interest Monday from the Los Angeles Lakers, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers. Copeland has not heard from the Knicks, who apparently are content to let the market set his value before they decide whether to match an offer sheet. It is a risky stance; the most the Knicks can pay Copeland is $3.18 million, using the so-called mini-midlevel exception. They might also need part of that exception to keep Prigioni.

The Knicks are said to be chasing two top free agents, Monta Ellis and Tony Allen, but both are certain to receive far more lucrative offers elsewhere.

The Nets are also facing a significant departure. C. J. Watson, their backup point guard, reportedly reached agreement on Monday on a two-year deal with the Pacers.

The rosters will keep fluctuating in the days to come, and impressions are bound to change. But the Knicks have a lot of work to do to change those impressions.

Correction: July 1, 2013

An earlier version of this article misspelled the first name of the Nets’ backup center. He is Andray Blatche, not Andrey Blatche.

Nate Taylor contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on July 2, 2013, on Page B16 of the New York edition with the headline: Knicks’ Countermove May Be Counterproductive. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe